Theft of govt property worries Secretary to Government

Secretary to Government Lloyd Muhara has bemoaned the tendency by some civil servants to steal government equipment acquired through donors.

Speaking on the sidelines of a donation of computers and laptops from the Egyptian government in Lilongwe yesterday, Muhara said it was disheartening to hear reports of abuse and theft of government property.

The assistance comprised 10 sets of laptops, 10 sets of desktop computers and training of staff in the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) in various fields.

Said Muhara. “It is disheartening when we hear reports that some donations made by bilateral partners, including computers and even vehicles, have gone missing within few months.

“As a result, therefore, the impact of such heavy investments has not been felt. This is not good and we need to take care of every equipment given to us by donors and we will make sure that it stops. As OPC, we have installed surveillance equipment to make sure that there are no such cases here.”

He further said the OPC needs up-to-date tools and skilled staff to work efficiently.

“The lack of appropriate tools and equipment as well as a gap in skills of staff has an adverse effect on efficient provision of OPC’s strategic mandate,” he said.

Egyptian Ambassador Mohamed El-Adawy said Malawi will continue receiving help from his government because of the cordial relationship between the two countries.

“As Egypt, we will always make sure that we continue assisting Malawi in various areas such as trade, education and even health. In trade we have a presence in Malawi in telecommunications, transport business even in agriculture. We have gone into partnership with the Lilongwe University of Agriculture so that we can also help in improving Malawi’s agricultural sector,” he said.

Malawi has also benefited from various scholarships offered by the Egyptian government. n